


Through the Night

by missfeministfangirl



Category: Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, PTSD, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-08
Updated: 2012-08-08
Packaged: 2017-11-11 17:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/481189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missfeministfangirl/pseuds/missfeministfangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>response to a prompt that asked fro Bruce comforting emotionallyvulnerable!Tony: Tony has a nightmare and Bruce talks him down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through the Night

**Author's Note:**

> self-betaked, so all mistakes are mine

_He was back in Afghanistan, the sun beating down, the smell of sweat and sand palpable as he stood in the old suit, the one he’d assembled from scraps in the cave and he had used it to escape, but now he stood outside in the bright bright sunshine, too bright, blinding and he couldn’t see enough through the thin slits in the metal and his limbs felt as heavy as the suit, like he was moving through water and then he heard it, a bomb going off behind him and he felt the metal splitting apart on impact, felt it bite into him, push into his ribs, clench around his neck—-_

Tony shot up with a gasp. He was in the lab; the soft blue glow of his computer screens a stark contrast to the Middle Eastern sun he could still see behind his eyes. He must have been working and dozed off, and he would have paused to wonder what that said about his need for sleep but he was still trembling, still couldn’t quite get the feeling of metal pressing into his windpipe out of his head. He stumbled hurriedly out of the room, not knowing where he was planning on heading, but knowing that he had to go somewhere else, had to get out.

He found himself in the kitchen, heart pounding and there was—

Bruce. 

“Jesus” Tony exclaimed, and of course Bruce was still up and of course he was here, when Tony just wanted to be alone and why was Bruce here?

“Hey, sorry to startle you, couldn’t sleep.” Bruce said, but then he got a good look at Tony, at his pale face and mussed hair and trembling hands and turned serious saying, “Tony are you alright?”

“Oh yeah, I’m…I’m” and he couldn’t deal with this, couldn’t come up with an excuse this late at night, not in front of Bruce who was looking so damn worried so he settled for, “I’m fine.”

To which Bruce replied simply, “No you’re not. Just sit down” he said trying to guide tony over to the couch.

“Look I told you I’m fine this isn’t—“

“Tony, I am an actual doctor remember, and a doctor you don’t want to irritate, so just sit down.”

And because Tony’s mind somehow couldn’t come up with an adequate response to the trust-me-I’m-a-doctor routine, he sat and let Bruce stare into his dilated pupils and briefly feel his forehead.

“Nightmare?” He asked simply.

Apparently Tony had stopped trying to get out of whatever this was because he just said, “Yeah. They’re a bitch.”

“Ok Tony, there’s a lot of adrenaline rushing through your system right now—”

“No shit.” Tony said, although it ended up sounding much more rattled then he had meant it to, “I’ve had some experience with panic attacks and PTSD.” he continued, “What’re you gonna do, talk me through some relaxation exercises?”

“No,” Bruce said, seeming unfazed by Tony’s feeble attempts at sarcasm, “those things are bullshit. Your body is on red alert the last thing it wants to do it relax. Just tell me what you’re feeling. You hearts racing yeah?”

“Yeah”

“Your arms and legs probably feel tingly, maybe you feel a little light headed?”

“Yeah, a little”

“Ok, your body’s just sending lots of blood to your legs so you can run and to your arms so you can fight. It thinks there’s danger and it wants you to be prepared. And I can tell you’re having trouble breathing—‘

“Of course I’m having trouble breathing,” Tony spat out, “that’s always the worst part is that I can’t get enough—“. Tony choked on a dry sob, and shit, he just couldn’t breathe, it was too much, he couldn’t control this—-

“Tony, tony it’s fine”” Bruce interjected, his voice soft but steady as be dropped to his knees in front of Tony and put a hand on his knee. “Just focus on taking one deep breath, that’s all you need. Just one.” 

Tony tried to slow down his thoughts and managed to take one deep breath, filling his lungs, but the next second his feelings overwhelmed him and his face fell as he continued to gasp for breath.

“No Tony, that was good,” came Bruce’s voice, “That’s a start. Now take two.”

Tony let his head fall into his hands, trying to shut out the world, but then he felt Bruce gently grab his wrists and force his to look up.

“Come on, you’re Iron Man. Two deep breaths are nothing.”

Eventually Tony managed two large gulps of air. And as he and Bruce sat in the middle of the quiet of early dawn he managed another. And another and yet more until he began to breathe normally. As his body got the air it needed he could feel himself coming down, the last vestiges of the dream melting away as he actually took in his surroundings for the firs time since he woke up. 

Of course it was then that he had time to realize that Bruce was still holding his wrists and that the doctor had been stroking his thumbs over Tony’s palms for the past few minutes unknowingly. 

“Gosh Doc, I’m flattered, but buy a guy a drink first.” Tony said, trying for his usual cockiness but missing my some miles and somehow ending up at a little bit flustered. 

Bruce stared for a moment with a look of blank incomprehension on his face before looking down at his hands and blushing, removing them.

“God, sorry…” Bruce said trailing off.

“No it’s cool. Like I said, just a mojito first. Maybe a martini.”

Bruce laughed, and in the eerie stillness of the middle of the night, it was kind of beautiful. Even though it was quiet it filled the room; it chased away anything lurking in the shadows. 

“Feeling better?” Bruce asked

“Um yeah. Yeah, thanks for…that” Tony says, waving a hand as thought trying to brush away any awkwardness between them. “I guess you need that stuff sometimes—to deal with the other guy.”

“Sometimes.” Bruce agrees. But far from looking uncomfortable from Tony bring up the Hulk, Bruce still had a small smile on his face. Tony felt his heart skip a beat for an entirely different and much more pleasant reason, because this is Bruce, polite unassuming Bruce who is actually kind of brilliant in so many ways and who just made him feel safe again after he was on the edge

Which is why it seemed perfectly natural to lean down and let his lips brush the other man’s.

Because, well, why not? He’d just been at his most vulnerable with the guy and nothing horrible had happened, Bruce hadn’t rejected him, hadn’t laughed at him, it seemed only natural to push it further. To take another leap after Bruce had caught him the first time. 

It was a simple kiss, they were both tired after all, just a press of lips and the feeling of breath on breath. But there was something exhilarating about that simple kiss at 3am that heralded new things. 

Bruce pulled back and my god he was cute when he blushed. 

“So, mojitos you said?” Bruce asked with a deceptively straight face. Tony couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“And martinis. Or margheritas. I like any of the M drinks really. Also sleep, I like sleep a lot, we should get some, maybe, Pepper’s always telling me how important sleep is.”

“Yeah that sounds good”

By some unspoken agreement Bruce follows Tony to his room instead of returning to his own and Tony is so grateful that Bruce somehow knows that that is what he needs, that he couldn’t have gone back to sleep without the feeling of a solid body next to his. Bruce slid in next to him as though it was the most natural thing in the world and as Tony got used to the feeling of the other man’s steady heartbeat, he thought maybe it was.


End file.
